Demand for ‘open heart surgery’ in Congress; Former MLA Mohammad Moqeem’s letter to Sonia Gandhi

Former Odisha MLA and senior Congress leader Mohammad Moqeem has written a sharp and extremely emotional letter to Sonia Gandhi, raising serious questions about the top leadership of the Congress. In this letter sent on December 8, he said that the situation the party is in today is alarming, heartbreaking and unbearable, and if deep surgery is not done immediately, the Congress “will also lose its 100-year-old heritage.”

In his letter, Moqeem counted the condition of the Odisha organization as one of the biggest failures of the Congress. Describing the organizational change in 2023 as wrong and harmful, he said that Saret Patnaik, who became the state president at that time, kept losing elections continuously and in the 2024 elections, the vote share of the party dropped to 13%.

He also raised questions on the new state president Bhakta Charan Das appointed in 2025. Das has lost three consecutive elections and has at times openly criticized the Gandhi family. Moqeem alleged that the party under Das’ leadership lost the Nuapada by-election by a huge margin of 83,000 votes, indicating a complete loss of public trust.

Moqeem revealed that despite being an MLA, he could not meet Rahul Gandhi for three years. “This is not a personal complaint, but a sign of the emotional distance that millions of workers across the country feel,” he said.

Regarding the leadership of 83-year-old Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, he said that the party is not able to connect with 65% of today’s youth population. He termed the leaving of youth leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, Jaiveer Shergill, Hemant Biswa Sharma as the result of making them feel unheard and neglected.

Moqeem said that Priyanka Gandhi should be brought into the central leadership to rebuild the party. Also suggested to make Sachin Pilot, DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy and Shashi Tharoor a part of the main leadership team of the party, as was proposed in the Udaipur Chintan Shivir.

He also raised serious questions over the ‘Organization Creation Campaign’, alleging that it “promoted less popular individuals by sidelining efficient leaders.” He warned that “there is growing resentment among senior leaders across the country and many are thinking of leaving the party.”

Moqeem’s letter has created a stir within the party. Former OPCC chief Jaydev Jena said in a statement, “His comments against Rahul Gandhi and Kharge are clearly indiscipline. It seems he is preparing to leave the party.” While senior leader Narsingh Mishra supported Moqim, “Every Congress member has the right to tell the high command what is wrong in the organization. He has done nothing wrong.” According to sources, the party is now considering disciplinary action against him.

Moqeem wrote at the end of the letter, “I have written this letter not in anger, but out of love for the party that my ancestors have served since before the freedom struggle.

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